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PCB seeks to sort out scheduling issues

| May 10, 2012 at 09:08pm IST

The scheduling problems resulted after the dates for the planned Sri Lankan Premier League were announced.

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to speak with its counterparts from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in order to sort out the scheduling problems that resulted after the dates for the planned Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) were announced. The dates for SLPL are clashing with the scheduled Pakistan-Australia series in the island nation in August.

Pakistan has announced it would be playing a series of five one-day internationals and three T20 matches against Australia in Sri Lanka in August-September before the ICC T20 World Cup. Pakistan decided to host its "home" series against Australia in Sri Lanka after the Australians refused to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.

According to the tentative itinerary of the Sri Lankan board, it would be holding its premier league T20 event from August 10 to 31. "It is a difficult situation for us because obviously the commercial aspects of our series are going to be hurt if dates clash with the Sri Lankan premier league," chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmed said. "It is already difficult for us to make our home series profitable as after all we have to organise them at neutral venues and not at home."

Ahmed said while grounds were not a problem in Sri Lanka, if two major events were organised in one country at the same time, viewership and commercial interests would be affected for both parties. Pakistan has been forced to play its home series at neutral venues since 2009 when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore killing six policemen and a van driver and injuring five visiting players.

Ahmed also said it was too early to say whether the PCB would allow its players to play in the SLPL. "It is premature to say anything and we will have to see our own international and domestic commitments." Several Pakistani players had signed up with franchises in the SLPL when it was supposed to take off earlier this year.